“Charlotte, my children are not animals,” Mom comes to my defense.
“I didn’t say that, Evie. Just that I know how he feels about Frankie and how she feels about him. One day, you two will get your shit together and give your mother and I those shared grandbabies we’ve been dreaming about. That day isn’t going to be today, though.” Aunt Charlotte finds a vase and fills it with water.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to deny her claims, but I’m not a liar. “I’ll be on my best behavior. Scout’s honor,” I tell her as I walk back out towards the patio.
“You were never a scout, Emilio,” my aunt calls after me, and I laugh.
There’s an empty seat next to my sister. I choose that spot. It’s also directly across from Frankie. Leaning over to Eliana, I kiss her cheek. “How are you?”
“Good. Where have you been?” Eliana replies.
“Running errands. What’d I miss?”
“Not much. Tío Sammie and Tío Carlo have some kind of bet going. I have no idea what it’s about, but they keep raising the stakes.”
My uncles are always betting against something. When I look over at them, I see them watching me. I have no doubt I’m the subject of their bet tonight. I pick up the glass of water in front of me and raise it in their direction. My eyes flick across the table.
“Hi,” I say to Frankie.
“Hi.”
“Who’s your friend?” I ask while doing my best to keep my face and tone neutral.
Eliana reaches under the table and takes hold of my hand. “Emilio, I need you to help me. In the bathroom.”
“With what?” I glance at my sister, checking for any sign that she’s ill.
“My lipstick. I need to fix it and I need help,” she says.
“Eliana, you’re not wearing any lipstick and you don’t need it. You’re always the prettiest girl in the room anyway,” I tell her.
I hear the intake of breath from across the table. I look at Frankie, who is staring at me with wide eyes. I told her that once. I also told her the only other girl I ever said that to was my sister.
“You don’t scrub up too bad either, Frankie.” I wink at her.
“This is my friend, Kevin. Kevin, Emilio, mycousin.” Frankie puts extra emphasis on that last word.
“Nice to meet you,” Kevin says.
“What are your intentions with mycousin?” I ask the guy, putting just as much emphasis on the title as Frankie did.
Chapter Four
Oh my god, I’m going to kill him.I’m going to reach across the table and wrap my hands around his damn throat and strangle that smirk right off his face. But to do that, I’d have to touch him and I’ve done everything I canto avoid any kind of physical contact with Emilio ever since my eighteenth birthday.
“You don’t have to answer that,” I tell Kevin.
“It’s fine. I don’t mind. Frankie took pity on me. We’re in a class together at school, and when she heard I couldn’t get home for Christmas, she invited me to spend it with her family. As for my intentions with her…” Kevin smiles at me. “Well, we’re friends. Platonic friends. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the right parts for me to be interested in anything else. Pity, really, because she’s a catch. Any guy who lets this one slip away is a damn fool.”
Kevin knows how I feel about Emilio. We’ve had plenty of talks while we were supposed to be studying. We always ended up talking about our nonexistent love lives. One day, I let it slip that I was in love with someone who I could never actually be with. Kevin didn’t understand the relationship between our families. He also doesn’t really know the danger I’d be putting Emilio in if I let myself give in to my feelings.
He knows the rumors about who my family is, but I’ve never confirmed what my father actually does to the outside world. Which, unfortunately, is everyone else. My dad owns and manages casinos on The Strip. That’s it. He, along with my Uncle Sammie and Uncle Carlo, runs the underground of Las Vegas and is heavily involved in a number of criminal activities. I don’t get too much info about what it is they do, just little tidbits here and there.
And then there is my Tío E. Emilio’s dad. He’s the current leader of the De La Sangre Cartel and most certainly not someone you want to cross. You’ll never be seen again if you did. And Emilio, well, he’s following along with his brothers, who all work underneath their father.
My dad would lose his shit if he found out I was having any kind of relationship with Emilio, and if he hurt Emilio, my TíoE would retaliate. I’d literally be the reason my family was torn apart and the reason a war between thetwofamilies was started. I can’t do that.
“A damn fool,” Emilio says, agreeing with Kevin while looking directly at me.